Volkswagen recently announced that Chattanooga, Tennessee, will be the company’s North American base for manufacturing electric vehicles. This expansion of Volkswagen’s U.S. footprint will include an investment of $800 million in the Chattanooga facility and create 1,000 jobs at the plant as well as additional jobs at suppliers. Production at the site will begin in 2022.
"The U.S. is one of the most important locations for us, and producing electric cars in Chattanooga is a key part of our growth strategy in North America," said Dr. Herbert Diess, CEO of Volkswagen AG. "Together with our ongoing investments and this increase in local production, we are strengthening the foundation for sustainable growth of the Volkswagen brand in the U.S."
Chattanooga will be the first dedicated location in North America for production of a vehicle using Volkswagen’s modular electric toolkit chassis or MEB. In addition to Chattanooga, Volkswagen is building the first dedicated electric-vehicle (EV) production facility in Zwickau, Germany, starting MEB production by the end of 2019. In 2020, Volkswagen will also add EV production at facilities in China, and in the German cities of Emden and Hanover by 2022.
Volkswagen currently builds the midsize Atlas SUV and the Passat sedan at the Chattanooga plant, which opened in 2011. A five-seat version of the Atlas, the Atlas Cross Sport, will begin production in Chattanooga later this year.
Globally, Volkswagen plans to commit almost $50 billion through 2023 toward the development and production of electric vehicles and digital services. The Volkswagen brand alone has forecasted selling 150,000 EVs by 2020 worldwide, increasing that number to 1 million by 2025.
For more information, visit www.vw.com.